Sydney Sixers: Big Bash League’s serial winners

Sydney Sixers: BBL 2021-22 schedule and full squad list

History

With three titles to their name in nine seasons, Sydney Sixers are undoubtedly the most successful team in the Big Bash League, Australia’s premier T20 tournament. The Sixers were host to the very first game of Big Bash League, which resulted in an easy win for them. They also became the first-ever champions of BBL.

Sydney Sixers: Big Bash League Results With Captains

YearCaptainResult
2020-21Moises HenriquesChampions
2019-20Moises HenriquesChampions
2018-19Moises HenriquesSemi-finals
2017-18Moises Henriques/ Johan Botha5th place 
2016-17Moises HenriquesRunners-up
2015-16Nic Maddinson8th place
2014-15Brad HaddinRunners-up
2013-14Steve SmithSemi-finals
2012-13Brad Haddin7th place
2011-12Brad HaddinChampions

Having won the championship in their first-ever season, Sixers had roped in Indian Premier League-proven Sunil Narine and David Warner in the next season. However, they finished a dismal 7th on the points table. The third season saw Sydney bringing in Steve Smith as the captain amongst other changes, and it almost clinched them the title as they finished in the semis. However, they compensated for the title miss with a win in the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

From 2014 to 2019, Sydney endured a topsy turvy run in the tournament where they performed well at times to land another BBL trophy, but it kept evading them.

Sydney won their second BBL title in the 2019-20 season, under the captaincy of all-rounder Moises Henriques. They followed it up with the second consecutive title last season with the squad looking well-balanced now.

Sydney Sixers Squad for BBL 2021-22

Batsman: Jack Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, James Vince

Wicket-keeper: Josh Philippe

All-Rounder: Moises Henriques (captain), Hayden Kerr, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite

Bowler: Steve o’ Keefe, Tom Curran, Sean Abbott. Ben Dwarshuis, Mickey Edwards, Nathan Lyon, Ben Manenti, Lloyd Pope, Jackson Bird, Chris Jordan, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Nick Winter

After a successful BBL season last time, the Sixers have understandably made very few changes to their squad with their business mostly being contract renewals. Right-handed James Vince, however, remains a player to watch out for. Apart from him, Stephen O’ Keefe, Carlos Brathwaite and Jackson Bird has re-signed with the team for the 2021-22 season.

Sydney Sixers Fixtures for BBL 2021-22

Date & DayFixtureVenueTime (IST)
December 5, 2021, SundaySydney Sixers vs Melbourne StarsSydney Cricket Ground1:15 PM
December 8, 2021, WednesdayHobart Hurricanes vs Sydney SixersUTAS Stadium, Tasmania1:05 PM
December 11, 2021, SaturdaySydney Sixers vs Hobart HurricanesSydney Cricket Ground1:05 PM
December 15, 2021, WednesdayMelbourne Stars vs Sydney SixersMelbourne Cricket Ground1:15 PM
December 21, 2021, TuesdaySydney Sixers vs Adelaide StrikersSydney Cricket Ground1:15 PM
December 26, SundaySydney Thunder vs Sydney SixersSydney Showground12:35 PM
December 29, 2021, WednesdaySydney Sixers vs Brisbane HeatSydney Cricket Ground12:35 PM
January 1, 2022, FridaySydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades Coffs Harbour Stadium, New South Wales2:00 PM
January 4, 2022, MondayBrisbane Heat vs Sydney SixersMetricon Stadium, Queensland1:15 PM
January 6, 2022, WednesdayPerth Scorchers vs Sydney SixersOptus Stadium, Perth3:35 PM
January 9, 2022, SaturdaySydney Sixers vs Perth ScorchersCoffs Harbour Stadium, New South Wales1:15 PM
January 11, 2022, MondayMelbourne Renegades vs Sydney SixersGMHBA Stadium, Victoria1:15 PM
January 15, 2022, FridaySydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder Sydney Cricket Ground2:10 PM
January 18, 2022, MondayAdelaide Strikers vs Sydney StrikersAdelaide Oval1:15 PM

The Numbers That Matter

Batting Stats

Quite unsurprisingly, Moises Henriques has been the highest runscorer for Sydney Sixers with 2135 runs, although the highest score is held by James Vince (98*). Henriques also has the most number of fifties (12) in the entire team. Vince is also the batsman to score the most number of runs in a BBL edition with 537 runs to his name in the last season.

Bowling Stats

Aussie bowler Sean Abbot has taken the most wickets (99) for Sydney Sixers with his best bowling figures reading 4-0-16-5. Abbot also holds the record for having the most four-wicket hauls (3) for Sydney.

Team Stats

Apart from being the only team to have won three BBL titles, the Sixers don’t have any distinctive team record. Their lowest team score has been 74 runs that came against Melbourne Stars, who had given a target of 169 runs. Interestingly, the highest total scored by the Sixers is also against Melbourne Stars, which is 213 runs.

Sydney Sixers: Rivalries

OpponentMatch PlayedWonLostWin Percentage (%)
Sydney Thunder191270.63%
Hobart Hurricanes15680.4%
Perth Scorchers209110.45%
Sydney Thunder

Since Big Bash League’s inception, the Australian Cricket board was clear about keeping two teams in Sydney with the core players from the New South Wales team featuring in them. And like all derbies, Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder – also known as the Sydney Smash – has always been a widely anticipated fixture. However, the rivalry started off in the most one-sided manner possible, with the Sixers winning seven encounters on the trot until January 2015.

Sydney Thunder managed their first-ever BBL derby win in BBL 2015-2016, the season they went on to win the title. Since then, the two teams have won five matches apiece in the 10 encounters.

Hobart Hurricanes

Quite surprisingly, the three-time BBL champions have their worst win percentage rate against Hobart Hurricanes, the team that has not won the BBL title ever.  The Sixers average a middling 146 runs against the Hurricanes while batting first and 151.3 while chasing.

Perth Scorchers

The only other team other than Sydney Sixers to win three BBL titles, Perth Scorchers have been a proper rival to the Sydney Sixers. The Scorchers currently lead Sixers 11-9 in head-to-head with the Sydney outfit managing just a 0.45 win percentage against them. The two teams had met each other in two BBL finals, the 2014-15 and 2016-17 edition, with Perth winning both the times.  

Road Ahead for the Sixers

Expecting the Sixers to go all the way and win a record fourth BBL title wouldn’t be far-fetched at all. The defending champions have retained the majority of their players from last season to assure there are no loopholes in the squad. Having the trio of James Vince, Josh Philippe and Daniel Hughes in the top order give the team a huge boost, which is further cushioned by the reliable Moises Henriques and Dan Christian. If that isn’t enough, the Sixers have the in-form trio of Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird and Steve O’Keefe with the ball, who jointly accounted for a whopping 30 wickets last season.